USA Today releases annual assistant coaching salary database
Check out the highest-paid assistants and coaching staffs.
Zach Barnett Dec 11, 2024
The folks at USA Today unveiled their list of assistant coaches salaries on Wednesday. It's a herculean task, tracking down the paychecks for 134 coaching staffs and 1,107 individual coaches. You can click over to their site to see all 1,107, but we've pulled out the highlights for you here.
The 10 highest-paid assistants in college football in 2024. See if you notice a trend here.
1. Blake Baker, LSU defensive coordinator: $2.5 million
2. Wink Martindale, Michigan defensive coordinator: $2.3 million
3. Jim Knowles, Ohio State defensive coordinator: $2.2 million
4. Pete Golding, Ole Miss defensive coordinator: $2.15 million
5. Andy Ludwig, Utah offensive coordinator: $2.05 million
6. Adam Fuller, Florida State defensive coordinator: $2.015 million
7. Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator: $2.003 million
8. Chip Kelly, Ohio State offensive coordinator: $2 million
9. Morgan Scalley, Utah defensive coordinator: $2 million
10. Tosh Lupoi, Oregon defensive coordinator: $1.9 million
10. Phil Parker, Iowa defensive coordinator: $1.9 million
Highest-paid non-coordinator: Kentucky associate head coach/tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator/NFL liaison Vince Marrow: $1.3 million
Highest-paid position coach: Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito: $1.286 million
Highest-paid Group of 5 assistant: South Florida defensive coordinator Todd Orlando: $550,000
Next we'll break things down by conference.
American
Highest-paid assistants
1. Todd Orlando, South Florida defensive coordinator: $550,000
2. Danny Langsdorf, Temple offensive coordinator: $503,878
3. Nate Woody, Army defensive coordinator: $490,000
4. Blake Harrell, East Carolina defensive coordinator: $480,000
5. Memphis defensive coordinator Tim Cramsey: $475,000
5. North Texas defensive coordinator Matt Caponi: $475,000
Highest-paid staffs
1. Army: $2.978 million
2. UTSA: $2.865 million
3. Memphis: $2.745 million
4. East Carolina: $2.697 million
5. South Florida: $2.6 million
ACC
Highest-paid assistants
1. Adam Fuller, Florida State defensive coordinator: $2.015 million
2. Garrett Riley, Clemson offensive coordinator: $1.75 million
3. Tony Gibson, NC State defensive coordinator: $1.5 million
4. Wes Goodwin, Clemson defensive coordinator: $1.4 million
5. Geoff Collins, North Carolina defensive coordinator: $1.13 million
Highest-paid staffs
1. Clemson: $9.675 million
2. Florida State: $8.475 million
3. North Carolina: $7.374 million
4. NC State: $6.207 million
5. Virginia Tech: $5.435 million
Big Ten
Highest-paid assistants
1. Wink Martindale, Michigan defensive coordinator: $2.3 million
2. Jim Knowles, Ohio State defensive coordinator: $2.2 million
3. Chip Kelly, Ohio State offensive coordinator: $2 million
4. Tosh Lupoi, Oregon defensive coordinator: $1.9 million
4. Phil Parker, Iowa defensive coordinator: $1.9 million
Highest-paid staffs
1. Ohio State: $11.425 million
2. Michigan: $9.384 million
3. Oregon: $8.225 million
4. Iowa: $7.9 million
5. Washington: $7.2 million
Big 12
Highest-paid assistants
1. Andy Ludwig, Utah offensive coordinator: $2.05 million
2. Morgan Scalley, Utah defensive coordinator: $2 million
3. Jon Heacock, Iowa State defensive coordinator: $1.2 million
4. Tim DeRuyter, Texas Tech defensive coordinator: $1.05 million
5. Kasey Dunn, Oklahoma State offensive coordinator: $1 million
Highest-paid staffs
1. Utah: $8.275 million
2. Oklahoma State: $6 million
3. Texas Tech: $5.301 million
4. Arizona Stte: $5.1 million
5. Kansas State: $4.697 million
Conference USA
Highest-paid assistants
1. Brian Stewart, Middle Tennessee offensive coordinator: $375,000
2. David Yost, FIU offensive coordinator: $345,000
3. Tyson Summers, Western Kentucky defensive coordinator: $303,000
4. Luke Olson, Jacksonville State defensive coordinator: $265,000
5. JJ Clark, UTEP defensive coordinator: $230,000
Highest-paid staffs
1. FIU: $1.74 million
2. Middle Tennessee: $1.605 million
3. New Mexico State: $1.465 million
4. Louisiana Tech: $1.359 million
5. UTEP: $1.335 million
MAC
1. Vince Kehres, Toledo defensive coordinator: $241,128
2. John Hauser, Ohio defensive coordinator: $211,050
3. Bill Brechen, Miami (Ohio) defensive coordinator: $200,000
4. Tim Tibesar, Akron defensive coordinator: $193,800
5. James Patton, Miami (Ohio) offensive line/associate head coach: $180,000
Highest-paid staffs
1. Western Michigan: $1.29 million
2. Central Michigan: $1.246 million
3. Ohio: $1.243 million
4. Miami (Ohio): $1.213 million
5. Northern Illinois: $1.16 million
Mountain West
1. Eric Schmidt, San Diego State defensive coordinator: $500,000
2. Dirk Koetter, Boise State offensive coordinator: $465,000
3. Erik Chinander, Boise State defensive coordinator: $440,000
4. Jay Johnson, Wyoming offensive coordinator: $400,008
5. Nick Howell/Jason Beck, New Mexico coordinators: $400,000
Highest-paid staffs
1. Boise State: $2.88 million
2. UNLV: $2.813 million
3. San Diego State: $2.5 million
3. San Jose State: $2.5 million
5. Colorado State: $2.064 million
SEC
1. Blake Baker, LSU defensive coordinator: $2.5 million
2. Pete Golding, Ole Miss defensive coordinator: $2.15 million
3. Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator: $2.003 million
4. Pete Kwiatkowski, Texas defensive coordinator: $1.8 million
5. Brad White, Kentucky defensive coordinator: $1.75 million
Highest-paid staffs
1. Georgia: $10.332 million
2. Alabama: $9.475 million
3. LSU: $9.3 million
4. Texas: $9.1 million
5. Ole Miss: $8.225 million
Sun Belt
1. Blake Seiler, Old Dominion defensive coordinator: $405,401
2. Jim Salgado, Louisiana defensive coordinator: $400,000
3. Mack Leftwich, Texas State offensive coordinator: $350,000
4. Craig Naivar/Travis Trickett, Coastal Carolina coordinators: $348,928
Highest-paid staffs
1. Louisiana: $2.202 million
2. Coastal Carolina: $2.059 million
3. Troy: $1.892 million
4. Appalachian State: $1.771 million
See the full list here.